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Coup plan B! US tells Guaido he may renounce his Venezuela 'presidency' claim - but they're not giving up just yet


RT
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 19:08 UTC
Abrams
© Andrew Harnik/ Pool via REUTERS
US special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams speaks about the new proposal at the State Department, in Washington, March 31, 2020.
The US State Department magnanimously agreed that opposition politician Juan Guaido may not actually be president of Venezuela, but insisted he still has to be part of a transition government if Caracas wants sanctions relief.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put forth a "democratic transition framework" on Tuesday, under which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would set up a power-sharing interim government with Guaido, that would arrange for elections in six months to a year.

According to Pompeo, the proposal "protects the interests and equities of all Venezuelan people who desperately seek a resolution to their dire political, economic and humanitarian crisis," and he urged all sides to "carefully and seriously" consider it.


Comment: The only crisis is the one manufactured by the US. If they really wanted to help Venezuela, they'd drop the embargo: "Crimes against humanity": Former UN rapporteur says US sanctions on Venezuela like a "medieval siege"


Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Iran-Turkey gas pipeline stops functioning after 'terrorist' attack


RT
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 10:54 UTC
gas pipeline turkey
© Ruptly
A senior official with Iran's state gas company has alleged that terrorists were behind an explosion and massive fire on the pipeline transporting natural gas from the Islamic Republic to Turkey.

"This morning, terrorists attacked a natural gas pipeline inside Turkey near Iran's Bazargan border with Turkey," National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Dispatching Director Mehdi Jamshidi Dana said on Tuesday, as cited by Reuters.

The official told IRNA that fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a guerilla group active in eastern Turkey, have attacked the pipeline in the past. NIGC spokesperson Mohammad Asgari, meanwhile, described the blast as an "incident" without linking it to terrorism. According to the NIGC, at least one person was killed.

Comment: See also:

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Gold Seal

Covid-19's meant to be a new Black Death, but in Britain no more people are dying than NORMAL. What does this say about the virus?

Peter Andrews
RT
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 21:24 UTC
hospital
© REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Many people are waking up to the fact that the Covid-19 "pandemic" is not turning out as billed. When we finally emerge from it, the big question will be how many people have died from the virus. Here's the most likely outcome.

You can bet that the institutions of international government, and the "experts" advising them, will try to massage and cherry-pick statistics to present the version of events that most closely matches their worst-case scenarios. The fact is, according to their early predictions, we are already long overdue millions of Covid-19 deaths that have failed to materialise.

But even when Covid-19 deaths are recorded, we have seen how it could be that people are dying with coronavirus rather than dying of it. This concept is easy enough to understand, and it encourages one to take a closer look at the breakdown of deaths across an entire society. The more you follow this rabbit hole down, the more interesting the numbers become. It may be somewhat morbid, but it is nonetheless very important.
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Dominoes

Follow China, follow Russia, follow America - The politics of COVID-19 alternatives without choice

John Helmer
Dances With Bears
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 20:49 UTC
putin xi trump
"The immediate priority is to prevent the quick spread of this disease", President Vladimir Putin (lead image, top left) declared in his state speech on the corona virus last week.

This is the point on which there is no disagreement, not now at least. But how restrictive for the economy the anti-contagion measures should be, and at what cost compared to the cost of the virus impact on life and death, is a point of considerable debate, inside Russia as everywhere else. That is the point which Putin avoided. He is not alone among the heads of state or government in the rest of the world. What is the difference then between Putin and all of them?

"Our most crucial task is to ensure stability in the labour market and to prevent a surge in unemployment", Putin added in his March 25 speech, announcing a combination of small social welfare and employment compensation measures, with tax relief and loan deferment for businesses, and Central Bank support for "stable lending to the real economy, including through state guarantees and subsidies."
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Arrow Up

SouthCom ups US military presence in Latin America due to China, Russia 'threats'; Brazil bows and obeys

Ben Norton
The Grayzone
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Bolsonaro
© Unknown
US Southern Command and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
Southern Command is ramping up the US military presence in Latin America to counter China, Russia, and Venezuela, after signing a historic military agreement incorporating Bolsonaro's Brazil into its imperial orbit.

The Donald Trump administration has ramped up US interventionism in Latin America, overseeing a far-right military coup in Bolivia and backing coup attempts against the leftist governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Against the backdrop of regime-change operations, the United States Southern Command has announced a massive expansion of its military presence in the region.

Brazil will play an anchoring role in the new arrangement, embracing its new role as an extension of Pax Americana under the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro. In recent months, Brazil has been designated a "major non-NATO ally" and signed a historic agreement incorporating its domestic defense industry into a Pentagon funding and research program.
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Pirates

Syria: US supports terrorists holding hostages at Rukban Camp

Steven Sahiounie
Mideast Discourse
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Terrorists
© Unknown
While the COVID-19 pandemic has taken center stage of the global media, there is little attention paid to a tragedy playing out in southeastern Syria. Far away from the western media coverage of the "Islamic State of Idlib", the scene is set in a desolate area on the border between Syria and Iraq, adjacent to the illegal US military base of 'Al Tanf'. The 'Rukban Camp' holds 13,500 Syrian civilians, who are displaced, and 6,000 armed Radical Islamic terrorists of Maghawir Al-Thawra and their families.

On March 28 the Russian-Syrian Coordination Committee released a statement in Damascus, in which they exposed the US support of the terrorists who control the camp. Under the guise of humanitarian aid, the US has coerced the UN into complicity, as the UN aid trucks are used to deliver not only food and supplies to the suffering civilians but also arms and ammunition to Maghawir Al-Thawra who administer the camp. The US uses the residents of the camp as a reason to remain in illegal occupation of the area, claiming the US troops are protecting the displaced civilians who live at the camp.

Comment: See also:

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Calendar

Washington renews 4 restrictions on Iran's nuclear program for 60 days


Business Standard
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 12:34 UTC
Iran mapthing
© WordPress.com/Sabbah Report
The restrictions related to non-proliferation work on the Middle East country are designed to make the Iranian nuclear program less capable of producing weapons.

The Trump administration on Monday (local time) decided to renew four restrictions on Iran's nuclear program for the next 60 days making it harder for Tehran to develop further nuclear weapons. Morgan Ortagus, US State Department spokesperson said in a statement:
"US is renewing four nuclear restrictions on Iran for an additional 60 days. We'll closely monitor developments in Iran's nuclear program and can adjust these restrictions at any time. As President Trump said, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."
These restrictions are based on Iran's continued nuclear program which "is unacceptable", she added.
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Pirates

Tunisia, Libya: Mercenaries from Syria recruited to create terrorist enclaves

Vladimir Platov
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Terrorists
© Unknown
Terrorists in Tunisia
Terrorists who have fled Idlib (in Syria), in part due to actions taken by Turkey, are dispersing throughout Africa thus posing a security threat to the entire North African region.

Their numbers are especially high in Libya and Tunisia today. According to many commentators, Turkey, in its desire not to sacrifice its military personnel to protect its own geopolitical interests by providing military assistance to Fayez al-Sarraj's Government of National Accord (GNC), has shown its willingness to transform Libya and Tunisia into breeding grounds for terrorism by actively directing mercenaries to these two countries.

The reason Ankara has chosen Tunisia as one of the destinations for militants from Syria is that after Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party, won in Tunisia's parliamentary elections in October 2019, Islamists began to consolidate their position in this nation. In addition, it is worth pointing out that Ennahda's ideology has been, in many ways, inspired by that of the Muslim Brotherhood (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), which Turkey and Qatar actively support. It is important not to forget that Turkey is a nation whose leadership includes players from moderate Islamist ranks or more precisely, the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey. Hence, it is no secret that armed units supporting Fayez al-Sarraj's GNC and Turkey's leaders share an ideology to a certain extent (although, of course, there are also some differences).

Comment: See also: Joanne Moriarty: Turkey proceeds with invasion of Libya, tribes respond

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Life Preserver

Iran receives medical goods from European states in first INSTEX transaction


Sputnik
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 08:26 UTC
Iran woman mask
© West Asia News/Reuters
Coronavirus in Iran
The INSTEX trading mechanism was previously created by European countries to bypass unilateral restrictions, imposed against the Islamic Republic by Washington, as the US threatened to hit those trading with Tehran via secondary sanctions. Iran, however, has repeatedly criticised INSTEX for not functioning properly.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have officially confirmed concluding their first INSTEX transaction with Iran, exporting medical goods to the Middle Eastern country. According to the German Foreign Ministry, Berlin hopes to enhance the mechanism and carry out more transaction with Tehran.

The news comes several months after Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands joined the mechanism, allowing the countries to circumvent US sanctions against Iran.

The medical goods are being sent to the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has severely affected Iran, making it the worst-hit Asian country outside China.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Up

'A huge, timely BDS victory': Microsoft dumps AnyVision, Israeli tech firm spying on Palestinians

Michael Arria
Mondoweiss
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Truck sign
© JVP/Twitter
Microsoft has announced that its divesting its shareholding in the Israeli facial recognition company AnyVision. The move follows an audit which was forced by a BDS campaign targeting the company. Activists say that AnyVision's facial recognition technology is used to spy on Palestinians in the West Bank.

After Microsoft invested in the company last June, NBC News reported that AnyVision "powers a secret military surveillance project" in Palestine. ACLU's Shankar Narayan at the time said:
"Face recognition is possibly the most perfect tool for complete government control in public spaces, so we need to treat it with extreme caution."
When NBC reached out to AnyVision CEO Eylon Etshtein for the story, he denied knowledge of the project, insisted that the West Bank wasn't occupied, and implied that the report was being funded by a Palestinian activist group.
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